Atos 20
Alexander Maclaren · Citado em PreceptAustin
Atos 20
Maclaren writes that Faith is the hand that grasps. It is the means of communication, it is the channel through which the grace which is the life, or, rather, I should say, the life which is the grace, comes to us. It is the open door by which the angel of God comes in with his gifts. It is like the petals of the flowers, opening when the sunshine kisses them, and, by opening, laying bare the depths of their calyxes to be illuminated and coloured, and made to grow by the sunshine which itself has opened them, and without the presence of which, within the cup, there would have been neither life nor beauty. So faith is the basis of everything; the first shoot from which all the others ascend...Faith works. It is the foundation of all true work; even in the lowest sense of the word we might almost say that. But in the Christian scheme it is eminently the underlying requisite for all work which God does not consider as busy idleness... Your work of faith. There is the whole of the thorny subject of the relation of faith and works packed into a nutshell. It is exactly what James said and it is exactly what a better than James said. When the Jews came to Him with their externalism, and thought that God was to be pleased by a whole rabble of separate good actions, and so said, ‘What shall we do that we might work the works of God?' Jesus said, ‘Never mind about Works. This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent,' and out of that will come all the rest. That is the mother tincture; everything will flow from that. So Paul says, ‘Your work of faith.' Does your faith work? Perhaps I should ask other people rather than you. Do men see that your faith works; that its output is different from the output of men who are not possessors of a ‘like precious faith'? Ask yourselves the question, and God help you to answer it. (Read full sermon on 1 Thessalonians 1:3) Wayne Grudem defines faith that saves one's soul... Saving faith is trust in Jesus Christ as a living person for forgiveness of sins and for eternal life with God. This definition emphasizes that saving faith is not just a belief in facts but personal trust in Jesus to save me... The definition emphasizes personal trust in Christ, not just belief in facts about Christ. Because saving faith in Scripture involves this personal trust, the word "trust" is a better word to use in contemporary culture than the word "faith" or "belief." The reason is that we can "believe" something to be true with no personal commitment or dependence involved in it. (Excerpt from Systematic Theology online - Scroll down to page 617 for the section entitled "I Must Decide to Depend on Jesus to Save Me Personally.") (Bolding added) Related Resources: Multiple articles (Spurgeon, Ryle, Watson, Brooks, et al) @ Saving Faith Spurgeon's on belief John 8:30-32 Believing On Jesus, And Its Counterfeits Alexander Maclaren on John 8:30, 31 Three Aspects of Faith Two Necessary Things for All I. Repentance - A ladder of sorrow, by which we descend into the depths of our own hearts: it has three steps. 1. Knowledge of sin. 2. Sorrow for it. 3. Desire of salvation from it. II. Faith - A heavenly ladder, on which we mount to God and eternity; it has also three steps. 1. Knowledge that the Redeemer has come. 2. Holy joy that He has taken up His abode with us. 3. Unshaken confidence in His saving grace. (Lisco) Acts 20:22 "And now, behold, bound in spirit (or Spirit), I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there: kai nun idou (2SAMM) dedemenos (RPPMSN) ego to pneumati poreuomai (1SPMI) eis Ierousalem, ta en aute sunantesonta (FAPNPA) moi me eidos, (RAPMSN ) : GNT Acts 20:22 καὶ νῦν ἰδοὺ δεδεμένος ἐγὼ τῷ πνεύματι πορεύομαι εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ συναντήσοντά μοι μὴ εἰδώς, NLT Acts 20:22 "And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don't know what awaits me, KJV Acts 20:22 And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: ESV Acts 20:22 And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, ASV Acts 20:22 And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: CSB Acts 20:22 "And now I am on my way to Jerusalem, bound in my spirit, not knowing what I will encounter there, NIV Acts 20:22 "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. NKJ Acts 20:22 "And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, NRS Acts 20:22 And now, as a captive to the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, YLT Acts 20:22 'And now, lo, I -- bound in the Spirit -- go on to Jerusalem, the things that shall befall me in it not knowing, Bound in spirit: Acts 19:21, 21:11-14 Luke 9:51, 12:50 2Co 5:14 not: Luke 18:31-33 Jn 13:1, 18:4 Jas 4:14, 2Pe 1:14 Acts 20 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries PAUL WAS A BOUND MAN! We use a phase "bound and determined" which Webster says means " having a very strong feeling that one is going to do something and not allow anyone or anything to get in the way : very determined." Paul was very focused and devoted to completing the particular task he had been assigned by the Lord Jesus (Acts 9:15-16+) And now - Whenever you encounter an expression of time, be sure to question it (5W/H'S). Here Paul shifts from review of his past practices (summarized in Acts 20:18-21) to the future prospects that awaited him (Acts 20:22-27). Behold (2400)(idou) - This interjection should always arrest our attention. "Stop! Listen up" is the idea" in both the Old and the New Testaments. Behold always serves to emphasize what follows (and so it provides an opportunity to query the text -- Why? What are we to behold?, etc.) Bound in spirit - The NAS does not capitalize "spirit" which reflects the interpretation of the translators that Luke is not referencing the Holy Spirit. However, several other translations favor this as a reference to the Holy Spirit and thus capitalize Spirit rendering Luke's phrase "compelled by the Spirit" (NET, NIV, NAB) or "constrained by the Spirit" (ESV). Craig Keener - One might interpret “bound in spirit” as “bound by his [own] spirit,” but Luke’s usage and the immediate context decisively favor reading this as “bound by the Spirit”—that is, God’s Spirit. When Luke uses “spirit” without qualification he normally means the Holy Spirit (see comment on Acts 18:25; Acts 19:21), and in context, “bound in Spirit” means something like “bound, as the Holy Spirit testifies” (Acts 20:23); thus in Acts 21:11 the Holy Spirit testifies through a prophet that Paul will be “bound” in Jerusalem. As Paul had once “bound” Christians (9:2, 14, 21) and as Peter was once “bound” in chains (12:6), so would Paul experience the shame of being “bound” (deo, Acts 21:11, 13, 33; 22:5, 29; 24:27). “Bonds” (Acts 20:23) now awaited the one who was “bound” by the Spirit (Acts 20:22). This is probably a wordplay; the perfect participle for “bound” probably suggests antecedent action, which, in the context of Acts, likely refers to when Paul “purposed” or “resolved” by the Spirit in Acts 19:21.(Acts-An Exegetical Commentary). Bound (1210)(deo) literally meant to tie objects together and figuratively could refer to confining someone in prison (Mk 15:7) or to cause someone to be under authority of someone or something else (Ro 7:2+). The NLT paraphrase gives us the sense of what Paul meant by bound in spirit rendering it as "drawn there irresistibly" and the perfect tense indicates that this was Paul's permanent state. This is not surprising for he repeatedly referred to himself as a bondservant (doulos) and as one who served (douleuo) his Lord (Acts 20:19), both words originating from deo. In short Paul was a man irrevocably and intimately bound to Christ Jesus His Master. Paul as the Lord's bondservant conveys the idea of his close tie to Jesus his Lord, his acknowledgement that he belonged to Him and his desire to lovingly do His master's will. In short, the will of Paul the "bound one" was consumed in the will of his Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. Whether by the Spirit or his own spirit, Paul was constrained by a compulsion which he could not "shake" that he was to continue on to Jerusalem 🙏 THOUGHT - Swindoll elaborates on bound - Somewhere along his journey, Paul learned that his own desire was, in fact, a prompting by the Holy Spirit. A desire became a need; the need grew into a passion; now the passion had become an obsession. (I mean “obsession” in the best way. People who have experienced a clear call of the Spirit experience His leading as a single-minded compulsion to do as He directs." What about you beloved? Are you a "bound" man or woman? Would you call yourself the Lord's bondservant? Are you allowing the Holy Spirit compel your spirit? Is your will consumed and subsumed by His good and acceptable and perfect will? Yield to the Spirit of Christ. Heed His invitation (He is speaking to the church!) Take Jesus' yoke. Abide in Him as your sustaining, invigorating Vine (Jn 15:5+) and live life to the full just as did the apostle Paul, a bound man! On my way to Jerusalem (see map) - The NET Bible Notes that "This journey to Jerusalem suggests a parallel between Paul and Jesus, since the "Jerusalem journey" motif figures so prominently in Luke's Gospel" (cp "set His face to go to Jerusalem" Lk 9:51KJVff+) Knowing (1492)(eido) is a perception, a being aware of, an understanding, an intuitive knowledge which in believers is given by the Holy Spirit. Eido/oida suggests a fullness of knowledge, an absolute knowledge which is beyond a shadow of a doubt. In this case Paul did not know the specific details but as he states in the next verse, he knew the general tenor of what he would encounter -- "bonds and afflictions!" The prophecy of Agabus in Acts 21:10, 11 would give Paul more specific details of the persecution awaiting him in Jerusalem. NOT KNOWING G Campbell Morgan... This phrase from the lips of Paul reveals one of the things that, through very varied experience, he had come to know. He knew that there were things in his program that he did not know. Locally, the phrase was expressive of uncertainty as to the reception he would receive in Jerusalem. But its chief value for us lies in the fact that it is so used as to show that such ignorance did not interfere with the certainties of the future. He had received a ministry from the Lord Jesus, and the one and only thing that concerned him was that he should accomplish (finish) that ministry (Acts 20:24). What lay in the course (the race), of bonds or affliction, or even death, mattered nothing; the doing of the appointed work was supreme (Ed: But don't misinterpret this Paul's doing, for Paul's doing was always a fruit of his being, his abiding in the Vine, an outgrowth of the enabling power of the Spirit of Christ energizing Christ's life in and through him). Thus there is the touch of a splendid carelessness in the words "not knowing"; a carelessness as to minor matters, born of a constant carefulness as to the principal matter (Ed: In other words the minor was ever overshadowed by the major). Thus the "not knowing" of Paul meant not caring to know, not asking to know; indeed, it meant preferring not to know. That is the true attitude of all who are walking in an appointed course, in the service of the Lord. We know Whose we are and Whom we serve. (Ed: Note the order - first Whose we are then Whom we serve. Being should always precedes doing.) We know the way of His will for us. As to the rest, we can say not knowing; and that is the ignorance of a perfect rest (cp Mt 11:28-30+). (Life Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible) Acts 20:23 except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me: plen hoti to pneuma to hagion kata polin diamarturetai (3SPMI) moi legon (PAPNSN) oti desma kai thlipseis me menousin. (3PPAI ) : NET Acts 20:23 except that the Holy Spirit warns me in town after town that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me. GNT Acts 20:23 πλὴν ὅτι τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον κατὰ πόλιν διαμαρτύρεταί μοι λέγον ὅτι δεσμὰ καὶ θλίψεις με μένουσιν. NLT Acts 20:23 except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. KJV Acts 20:23 Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. ESV Acts 20:23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. ASV Acts 20:23 save that the Holy Spirit testifieth unto me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. CSB Acts 20:23 except that in town after town the Holy Spirit testifies to me that chains and afflictions are waiting for me. NIV Acts 20:23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. NKJ Acts 20:23 "except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. NRS Acts 20:23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me. YLT Acts 20:23 save that the Holy Spirit in every city doth testify fully, saying, that for me bonds and tribulations remain; Holy Spirit: Acts 9:16, 14:22, 21:4,11 Jn 16:33 1Th 3:3 2Ti 2:12 Acts 20 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” The Holy Spirit solemnly testifies - Paul knew that difficult times of testing were coming. Subsequent history would prove Paul had about 10 more years before Nero beheaded him (the tradition most accept). The Holy Spirit, speaking to the original readers (by application to all disciples of Christ) of Peter's first epistle warns us... Beloved, do not be surprised (present imperative = a command with negative = don't let this start happening or stop an action already occurring) at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ (cp Col 1:24+), keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation (Read Mt 5:10-12+; Php1:29+; Php 3:10+; Ro 8:17+, 2Co 1:7, 4:10+). If you are reviled (reproached, insulted, slandered, assailed with abuse) for the name of Christ (Note this "qualifying" caveat!), you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. (1Pe 4:12, 13+, 1Pe 4:14+) Solemnly testifies (present tense = continually) (1263) see notes above on diamarturomai The Holy Spirit - Observe that the Holy Spirit spoke to Paul. I think we do the Spirit and ourselves a disservice to think He would not desire to speak to us as well! 🙏 THOUGHT - Lord give us hears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church, Christ's Body, in these last days. Amen (See this phrase used 7 times by Jesus speaking to the church! - Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 29+, Rev 3:6, 13, 22+) The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ (Ro 8:9+, cp Acts 16:7, Php 1:19+, Gal 4:6), the One Jesus referred to as "another (allos = of the same kind) Helper" (Jn 14:16). Jesus had ascended in Acts 1 but His kingdom work was far from finished. Therefore in Acts 2, the Spirit of Jesus had descended to empower (cp Acts 1:8+) the work of Christ through His body, the Church. Church, notice how we began! 🙏 THOUGHT - How are we doing today Church, Body of Christ? Is the Church in America relying on the same power that fueled the spread of the Gospel in the book of Acts? If not why not? And should we be surprised if we are not radically impacting our godless progressively corrupting American culture? Beloved, we began by Jesus' sending of His Holy Spirit and we must run by that same Spirit! (Beloved if you are unsure how you would answer this question, consider reading Francis Chan's thoughtful challenge to the modern church in his book - Forgotten God Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit - but be a Berean as he has a few statements you need to check closely with Scripture) Related Resources: 1 Corinthians 2:10-16 Commentary 1 John 4:4 Commentary A Spirit Filled Church Acts 1:8 Commentary Ephesians 5:18 Commentary Expulsive Power of a New Affection Galatians 5:16 Commentary Illumination of the Bible Loving Obedience-Obedient Love Our Anointing - The Holy Spirit Praying in the Spirit Spirit-Filled Believers Are Like Artesian Wells The Holy Spirit-2 The Holy Spirit-Walking Like Jesus Walked! THE GOSPEL: NEVER CHANGING NEVER LESSENING. Joseph Parker comments on the phrase in every city "In every city—bonds—afflictions." What a tribute to the sustaining power of the doctrine he had taught! The bonds were many, the afflictions were heavy; what outweighed them all? The sense of God's presence and God's favor. If one thing above another has been demonstrated by Christian history, it is that the Christian spirit may be so vital in a man as to make him forget all care and pain and labour and sorrow, and make him triumph and glory in tribulation also. What comforted Paul will comfort us. This is the eternal quantity of the Gospel—never changing, never lessening. SECRET OF THE BLESSED CHRISTIAN LIFE F B
Atos 20
Maclaren says the word of His grace is... the revelation of the grace of God in Jesus Christ, with all the great truths that cluster round and are evolved from it, is the all-sufficient source of enlightenment and security for individuals and for Churches. And whosoever will rightly use and faithfully keep that great word, no evil shall befall him, nor shall he ever make shipwreck of the faith. It is ‘able to build you up,’ says Paul. In God’s Gospel, in the truth concerning Jesus Christ the divine Redeemer, in the principles that flow from that Cross and Passion, and that risen life and that ascension to God, there is all that men need, all that they want for life, all that they want for godliness. The basis of their creed, the sufficient guide for their conduct, the formative powers that will shape into beauty and nobleness their characters, all lie in the germ in this message, ‘God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.’ Whoever keeps that in mind and memory, ruminates upon it till it becomes the nourishment of his soul, meditates on it till the precepts and the promises and the principles that are enwrapped in it unfold themselves before Him, needs none other guide for life, none other solace in sorrow, none other anchor of hope, none other stay in trial and in death. ‘I commend you to God and the word of His grace,’ which is a storehouse full of all that we need for life and for godliness. Whoever has it is like a landowner who has a quarry on his estate, from which at will he can dig stones to build his house. If you truly possess and faithfully adhere to this Gospel, you have enough. Ebenezer Temple says it is called the word of His grace because... (1) It originates in His grace. (2) It records His grace. (3) It is the instrument of His grace. The word of God's grace is given to instruct the ignorant—reclaim the wanderer—comfort the mourner—arouse the careless—confirm the wavering—and edify the Christian. The words here:— 1. Imply the commencement of a work. When we speak of building up, it naturally supposes a foundation is laid and a work begun. This is the case with every true Christian. In the work of conviction, the rubbish is taken away, all views of obtaining salvation by human merit are renounced. Christ is cordially embraced as all our salvation. 2. Insure its continuance. Christians are built up in— (1) Knowledge. (2) Faith (Jude 1:20). (3) Love. (4) Holiness. III. The sublimity of their destinies. Notice here:— 1. The state of happiness expressed. "An inheritance." (1) It is a rich inheritance. (2) It is a purchased inheritance—bought by the precious blood of Christ. (3) It is reserved. Ready prepared for every believer. (4) It is eternal. 2. The individuals who shall possess it. "Them which are sanctified." 3. The mode of its conveyance. "To give you." It is the free gift of God's grace. Warren
Atos 20
Maclaren comments on the "building up" power of the word of His grace... As for the individual, so for the Church, that written word is the guarantee for its purity and immortality. Christianity is the only religion that has ever passed through periods of decadence and purified itself again. They used to say that Thames water was the best to put on shipboard because, after it became putrid, it cleared itself and became sweet again. I do not know anything about whether that is true or not, but I know that it is true about Christianity. Over and over again it has rotted, and over and over again it has cleared itself, and it has always been by the one process. Men have gone back to the word and laid hold again of it in its simple omnipotence, and so a decadent Christianity has sprung up again into purity and power. The word of God, the principles of the revelation contained in Christ and recorded for ever in this New Testament, are the guarantee of the Church’s immortality and of the Church’s purity. This man and that man may fall away, provinces may be lost from the empire for a while, standards of rebellion and heresy may be lifted, but ‘the foundation of God standeth sure,’ and whoever will hark back again and dig down through the rubbish of human buildings to the living Rock will build secure and dwell at peace. If all our churches were pulverised to-morrow, and every formal creed of Christendom were torn in pieces, and all the institutions of the Church were annihilated-if there was a New Testament left they would all be built up again. Inheritance (2817)(kleronomia from kleros = lot + némo = give or distribute) is literally that which is distributed by lot and so refers to a portion which one receives by lot in a general distribution and then, in a more general sense means to possess oneself of, to receive as one's own, to obtain. In other words it can refer to a property already received as well as one that is expected. Although kleronomia is an inheritance which one receives by lot, in the NT the idea of chance associated with the lot is not found. Kleronomia refers to inheritance as a human legacy (cf. Mt 21:38; Mk 12: 7, 13; Lk 20:14; Acts 7: 5), to the inheritance of the land of Canaan as promised to Abraham (Heb. 11: 8). Kleronomia refers to the inheritance related to our salvation, an inheritance that is the lot of all who have been sanctified by God’s grace and are true servants of Jesus Christ (cf. Acts 20:32; Col. 3:24), an inheritance that believers receive not through the law, but by grace (a promise - Gal. 3:18), an eternal inheritance made certain by the work of Christ our Mediatorial High Priest under the New Covenant (Heb 9:15), an inheritance which is imperishable, etc (1Pe 1:4), an inheritance guaranteed by the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:14, Eph 1:18), an inheritance that will not be the lot of the idolatrous or immoral (Eph 5: 5). Related Resource: Dictionary discussion of Inheritance Joe Wall writes that "A primary contribution to the believer's preparation for receiving eternal inheritances, Paul told the Ephesian elders, was the "word of His grace, which is able to build you up", a reference, apparently, to the wonderful grace teaching of the Inherit the kingdom of God. (Going for the Gold - Joe L Wall) POSITIONAL SANCTIFICATION = PAST TENSE SALVATION = JUSTIFICATION Sanctified (37)(hagiazo from hagios = holy, set apart) means to set apart for God, to sanctify, to make a person or thing (in the OT altars, days, priests, etc were set apart) the opposite of koinos, which means profane or common. The primary meaning of sanctify is "to set apart, to consecrate," but it also carries the thought of the resultant holiness of character in the consecrated. For clarification, keep in mind that in the NT hagiazo has 3 distinct shades of meaning: (1) Describing the action of dedicating or consecrating something or someone to the service of God (Mt 23:19, 1Ti 4:5, Acts 26:18, 1Co 7:14, Heb 9:13), (2) to treat as holy , as is commanded regarding our Father's Name ("Hallowed" = hagiazo - Mt 6:9+) and His Son's Lordship (1Pe 3:15+), and (3) to cause someone to have the quality of holiness, as Paul prays for the saints at Thessalonica (1Th 5:23+) and John's prayer for the holy to still be holy (Rev 22:11+). Sanctify is in the perfect tense which speaks something occurring in the past but have permanent effects. This tense indicates not only that sanctification is a state of being that is a result of salvation, but in the passive voice signifies that it is something that God does for the believer at the time of conversion. In other words God sets the believer apart from darkness to light, from the kingdom of the devil to the kingdom of God, ultimately setting him or her apart for Himself, to be eternally be His treasured possession! Amazing grace indeed! This is called by some "positional sanctification." This one act of sanctification is made possible through the Cross of Jesus Christ. To put it another way, in Acts 20:32, Paul is describing past tense salvation (justification), at which time the Spirit set the elders apart from the world and unto God. They were "common" or "profane" when they were unregenerate sinners still in Adam. But when the supernatural power of the Gospel brought about their new birth, they were transferred to the kingdom of God's beloved Son (in Christ), and what had been profane or common, was miraculously made "holy." God took sinners and made them into saints. Yes, saved sinners still can sin but that is not the general direction of their life. Once justified (a once for all time transaction), saints begin the life long journey of progressive sanctification (present tense salvation) by the same Spirit that set them apart at the time of justification (1Pe 1:2+, 2Th 2:13, Acts 26:18 = "have been sanctified by faith in Me [Jesus]" = justification by grace through faith, which is also described in Heb 10:10+ = Have been sanctified"). See similar uses of hagiazo (and related word - hagiasmos) referring to past tense salvation (justification = "positional sanctification") - Ro 15:16+; 1Cor 1:2; 1:30 [hagiasmos]; 1Cor 6:11; 7:14; Eph. 5:26+; 1Th 5:23+; 2Th. 2:13 [hagiasmos]; 1Ti 4:5; 2Ti 2:21+) As Lewis S. Chafer says... Positional sanctification is as perfect as He is perfect. It is as complete for the weakest saint as it is for the strongest. It depends only on one's union with and position in Christ. All believers, not only some, are classified as 'the saints.
Atos 20:17-27
Maclaren writes that Faith is the hand that grasps. It is the means of communication, it is the channel through which the grace which is the life, or, rather, I should say, the life which is the grace, comes to us. It is the open door by which the angel of God comes in with his gifts. It is like the petals of the flowers, opening when the sunshine kisses them, and, by opening, laying bare the depths of their calyxes to be illuminated and coloured, and made to grow by the sunshine which itself has opened them, and without the presence of which, within the cup, there would have been neither life nor beauty. So faith is the basis of everything; the first shoot from which all the others ascend...Faith works. It is the foundation of all true work; even in the lowest sense of the word we might almost say that. But in the Christian scheme it is eminently the underlying requisite for all work which God does not consider as busy idleness... Your work of faith. There is the whole of the thorny subject of the relation of faith and works packed into a nutshell. It is exactly what James said and it is exactly what a better than James said. When the Jews came to Him with their externalism, and thought that God was to be pleased by a whole rabble of separate good actions, and so said, ‘What shall we do that we might work the works of God?' Jesus said, ‘Never mind about Works. This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent,' and out of that will come all the rest. That is the mother tincture; everything will flow from that. So Paul says, ‘Your work of faith.' Does your faith work? Perhaps I should ask other people rather than you. Do men see that your faith works; that its output is different from the output of men who are not possessors of a ‘like precious faith'? Ask yourselves the question, and God help you to answer it. (Read full sermon on 1 Thessalonians 1:3) Wayne Grudem defines faith that saves one's soul... Saving faith is trust in Jesus Christ as a living person for forgiveness of sins and for eternal life with God. This definition emphasizes that saving faith is not just a belief in facts but personal trust in Jesus to save me... The definition emphasizes personal trust in Christ, not just belief in facts about Christ. Because saving faith in Scripture involves this personal trust, the word "trust" is a better word to use in contemporary culture than the word "faith" or "belief." The reason is that we can "believe" something to be true with no personal commitment or dependence involved in it. (Grudem, W. A. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine Zondervan) (Bolding added) Related Resources: Multiple articles (Spurgeon, Ryle, Watson, Brooks, et al) @ Saving Faith Spurgeon on belief John 8:30-32 Believing On Jesus, And Its Counterfeits Alexander Maclaren on John 8:30, 31 Three Aspects of Faith Two Necessary Things for All I. Repentance - A ladder of sorrow, by which we descend into the depths of our own hearts: it has three steps. 1. Knowledge of sin. 2. Sorrow for it. 3. Desire of salvation from it. II. Faith - A heavenly ladder, on which we mount to God and eternity; it has also three steps. 1. Knowledge that the Redeemer has come. 2. Holy joy that He has taken up His abode with us. 3. Unshaken confidence in His saving grace. (Lisco) Acts 20:22 "And now, behold, bound in spirit (or Spirit), I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there: kai nun idou (2SAMM) dedemenos (RPPMSN) ego to pneumati poreuomai (1SPMI) eis Ierousalem, ta en aute sunantesonta (FAPNPA) moi me eidos, (RAPMSN ) : Bound in spirit: Acts 19:21, 21:11-14 Luke 9:51, 12:50 2Co 5:14 not: Luke 18:31-33 Jn 13:1, 18:4 Jas 4:14, 2Pe 1:14 PAUL WAS A BOUND MAN! And now - Whenever you encounter an expression of time, be sure to question it (5W/H'S). Here Paul shifts from review of his past practices (summarized in Acts 20:18-21) to the future prospects that awaited him (Acts 20:22-27). Behold (idou) - This interjection should always arrest our attention. "Stop! Listen up" is the idea" in both the Old and the New Testaments. Behold always serves to emphasize what follows (and so it provides an opportunity to query the text -- Why? What are we to behold?, etc.) Bound in spirit - The NAS does not capitalize "spirit" which reflects the interpretation of the translators that Luke is not referencing the Holy Spirit. However, several other translations favor this as a reference to the Holy Spirit and thus capitalize Spirit rendering Luke's phrase "compelled by the Spirit" (NET, NIV, NAB) or "constrained by the Spirit" (ESV). Bound (1210)(deo) literally meant to tie objects together and figuratively could refer to confining someone in prison (Mk 15:7) or to cause someone to be under authority of someone or something else (Ro 7:2). The NLT paraphrase gives us the sense of what Paul meant by bound in spirit rendering it as "drawn there irresistibly" and the perfect tense indicates that this was Paul's permanent state. This is not surprising for he repeatedly referred to himself as a bondservant (doulos) and as one who served (douleuo) his Lord (Acts 20:19), both words originating from deo. In short Paul was a man irrevocably and intimately bound to Christ Jesus His Master. Paul as the Lord's bondservant conveys the idea of his close tie to Jesus his Lord, his acknowledgement that he belonged to Him and his desire to lovingly do His master's will. In short, the will of Paul the "bound one" was consumed in the will of his Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. Whether by the Spirit or his own spirit, Paul was constrained by a compulsion which he could not "shake" that he was to continue on to Jerusalem What about you beloved? Are you a "bound" man or woman? Would you call yourself the Lord's bondservant? Are you allowing the Holy Spirit compel your spirit? Is your will consumed and subsumed by His good and acceptable and perfect will? Yield to the Spirit of Christ. Heed His invitation (He is speaking to the church!) Take Jesus' yoke. Abide in Him as your sustaining, invigorating Vine (Jn 15:5) and live life to the full just as did the apostle Paul, a bound man! On my way to Jerusalem - The NET Bible Notes that "This journey to Jerusalem suggests a parallel between Paul and Jesus, since the "Jerusalem journey" motif figures so prominently in Luke's Gospel" (cp "set His face to go to Jerusalem" Lk 9:51KJVff) Knowing (1492)(eido) is a perception, a being aware of, an understanding, an intuitive knowledge which in believers is given by the Holy Spirit. Eido/oida suggests a fullness of knowledge, an absolute knowledge which is beyond a shadow of a doubt. In this case Paul did not know the specific details but as he states in the next verse, he knew the general tenor of what he would encounter -- "bonds and afflictions!" The prophecy of Agabus in Acts 21:10, 11 would give Paul more specific details of the persecution awaiting him in Jerusalem. NOT KNOWING G Campbell Morgan... This phrase from the lips of Paul reveals one of the things that, through very varied experience, he had come to know. He knew that there were things in his program that he did not know. Locally, the phrase was expressive of uncertainty as to the reception he would receive in Jerusalem. But its chief value for us lies in the fact that it is so used as to show that such ignorance did not interfere with the certainties of the future. He had received a ministry from the Lord Jesus, and the one and only thing that concerned him was that he should accomplish (finish) that ministry (Acts 20:24). What lay in the course (the race), of bonds or affliction, or even death, mattered nothing; the doing of the appointed work was supreme (Ed: But don't misinterpret this Paul's doing, for Paul's doing was always a fruit of his being, his abiding in the Vine, an outgrowth of the enabling power of the Spirit of Christ energizing Christ's life in and through him). Thus there is the touch of a splendid carelessness in the words "not knowing"; a carelessness as to minor matters, born of a constant carefulness as to the principal matter (Ed: In other words the minor was ever overshadowed by the major). Thus the "not knowing" of Paul meant not caring to know, not asking to know; indeed, it meant preferring not to know. That is the true attitude of all who are walking in an appointed course, in the service of the Lord. We know Whose we are and Whom we serve. (Ed: Note the order - first Whose we are then Whom we serve. Being should always precedes doing.) We know the way of His will for us. As to the rest, we can say not knowing; and that is the ignorance of a perfect rest (cp Mt 11:28-30-note). (Life Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible) Acts 20:23 except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me: plen hoti to pneuma to hagion kata polin diamarturetai (3SPMI) moi legon (PAPNSN) oti desma kai thlipseis me menousin. (3PPAI ) Holy Spirit: Acts 9:16, 14:22, 21:4,11 Jn 16:33 1Th 3:3 2Ti 2:12) “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” The Holy Spirit solemnly testifies - Paul knew that difficult times of testing were coming. Subsequent history would prove Paul had about 10 more years before Nero beheaded him (the tradition most accept). The Holy Spirit, speaking to the original readers (by application to all disciples of Christ) of Peter's first epistle warns us... Beloved, do not be surprised (present imperative = a command with negative = don't let this start happening or stop an action already occurring) at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ (cp Col 1:24-note), keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation (Read Mt 5:10-12-note; Php1:29-note; Php 3:10-note; Ro 8:17-note, 2Co 1:7, 4:10-note). If you are reviled (reproached, insulted, slandered, assailed with abuse) for the name of Christ (Note this "qualifying" caveat!), you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. (1Pe 4:12, 13-note, 1Pe 4:14-note) The Holy Spirit - Observe that the Holy Spirit spoke to Paul. I think we do the Spirit and ourselves a disservice to think He would not desire to speak to us as well! Lord give us hears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church, Christ's Body, in these last days. Amen (See Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 29, 3:6, 13, 22) The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ (Ro 8:9-note, cp Acts 16:7, Php 1:19-note, Gal 4:6), the One Jesus referred to as "another (allos = of the same kind) Helper" (Jn 14:16). Jesus had ascended in Acts 1 but His kingdom work was far from finished. Therefore in Acts 2, the Spirit of Jesus had descended to empower (cp Acts 1:8-note) the work of Christ through His body, the Church. Church, notice how we began! How are we doing today Church, Body of Christ? Is the Church in America relying on the same power that fueled the spread of the Gospel in the book of Acts? If not why not? And should we be surprised if we are not radically impacting our godless progressively corrupting American culture? Beloved, we began by Jesus' sending of His Holy Spirit and we must run by that same Spirit! (Beloved if you are unsure how you would answer this question, consider reading Francis Chan's thoughtful challenge to the modern church in his book - Forgotten God Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit) THE GOSPEL: NEVER CHANGING NEVER LESSENING. Joseph Parker comments on the phrase in every city... "In every city—bonds—afflictions." What a tribute to the sustaining power of the doctrine he had taught! The bonds were many, the afflictions were heavy; what outweighed them all? The sense of God's presence and God's favor. If one thing above another has been demonstrated by Christian history, it is that the Christian spirit may be so vital in a man as to make him forget all care and pain and labour and sorrow, and make him triumph and glory in tribulation also. What comforted Paul will comfort us. This is the eternal quantity of the Gospel—never changing, never lessening. SECRET OF THE BLESSED CHRISTIAN LIFE F B
Atos 20:28-38
Maclaren says the word of His grace is... the revelation of the grace of God in Jesus Christ, with all the great truths that cluster round and are evolved from it, is the all-sufficient source of enlightenment and security for individuals and for Churches. And whosoever will rightly use and faithfully keep that great word, no evil shall befall him, nor shall he ever make shipwreck of the faith. It is ‘able to build you up,’ says Paul. In God’s Gospel, in the truth concerning Jesus Christ the divine Redeemer, in the principles that flow from that Cross and Passion, and that risen life and that ascension to God, there is all that men need, all that they want for life, all that they want for godliness. The basis of their creed, the sufficient guide for their conduct, the formative powers that will shape into beauty and nobleness their characters, all lie in the germ in this message, ‘God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.’ Whoever keeps that in mind and memory, ruminates upon it till it becomes the nourishment of his soul, meditates on it till the precepts and the promises and the principles that are enwrapped in it unfold themselves before Him, needs none other guide for life, none other solace in sorrow, none other anchor of hope, none other stay in trial and in death. ‘I commend you to God and the word of His grace,’ which is a storehouse full of all that we need for life and for godliness. Whoever has it is like a landowner who has a quarry on his estate, from which at will he can dig stones to build his house. If you truly possess and faithfully adhere to this Gospel, you have enough. Ebenezer Temple says it is called the word of His grace because... (1) It originates in His grace. (2) It records His grace. (3) It is the instrument of His grace. The word of God's grace is given to instruct the ignorant—reclaim the wanderer—comfort the mourner—arouse the careless—confirm the wavering—and edify the Christian. The words here:— 1. Imply the commencement of a work. When we speak of building up, it naturally supposes a foundation is laid and a work begun. This is the case with every true Christian. In the work of conviction, the rubbish is taken away, all views of obtaining salvation by human merit are renounced. Christ is cordially embraced as all our salvation. 2. Insure its continuance. Christians are built up in— (1) Knowledge. (2) Faith (Jude 1:20). (3) Love. (4) Holiness. III. The sublimity of their destinies. Notice here:— 1. The state of happiness expressed. "An inheritance." (1) It is a rich inheritance. (2) It is a purchased inheritance—bought by the precious blood of Christ. (3) It is reserved. Ready prepared for every believer. (4) It is eternal. 2. The individuals who shall possess it. "Them which are sanctified." 3. The mode of its conveyance. "To give you." It is the free gift of God's grace. Warren
Atos 20:28-38
Maclaren comments on the "building up" power of the word of His grace... As for the individual, so for the Church, that written word is the guarantee for its purity and immortality. Christianity is the only religion that has ever passed through periods of decadence and purified itself again. They used to say that Thames water was the best to put on shipboard because, after it became putrid, it cleared itself and became sweet again. I do not know anything about whether that is true or not, but I know that it is true about Christianity. Over and over again it has rotted, and over and over again it has cleared itself, and it has always been by the one process. Men have gone back to the word and laid hold again of it in its simple omnipotence, and so a decadent Christianity has sprung up again into purity and power. The word of God, the principles of the revelation contained in Christ and recorded for ever in this New Testament, are the guarantee of the Church’s immortality and of the Church’s purity. This man and that man may fall away, provinces may be lost from the empire for a while, standards of rebellion and heresy may be lifted, but ‘the foundation of God standeth sure,’ and whoever will hark back again and dig down through the rubbish of human buildings to the living Rock will build secure and dwell at peace. If all our churches were pulverised to-morrow, and every formal creed of Christendom were torn in pieces, and all the institutions of the Church were annihilated-if there was a New Testament left they would all be built up again. Inheritance (2817)(kleronomia from kleros = lot + némo = give or distribute) is literally that which is distributed by lot and so refers to a portion which one receives by lot in a general distribution and then, in a more general sense means to possess oneself of, to receive as one's own, to obtain. In other words it can refer to a property already received as well as one that is expected. Although kleronomia is an inheritance which one receives by lot, in the NT the idea of chance associated with the lot is not found. Kleronomia refers to inheritance as a human legacy (cf. Mt 21:38; Mk 12: 7, 13; Lk 20:14; Acts 7: 5), to the inheritance of the land of Canaan as promised to Abraham (Heb. 11: 8). Kleronomia refers to the inheritance related to our salvation, an inheritance that is the lot of all who have been sanctified by God’s grace and are true servants of Jesus Christ (cf. Acts 20:32; Col. 3:24), an inheritance that believers receive not through the law, but by grace (a promise - Gal. 3:18), an eternal inheritance made certain by the work of Christ our Mediatorial High Priest under the New Covenant (Heb 9:15), an inheritance which is imperishable, etc (1Pe 1:4), an inheritance guaranteed by the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:14, Eph 1:18), an inheritance that will not be the lot of the idolatrous or immoral (Eph 5: 5). Related Resource: Dictionary discussion of Inheritance Joe Wall writes that "A primary contribution to the believer's preparation for receiving eternal inheritances, Paul told the Ephesian elders, was the "word of His grace, which is able to build you up", a reference, apparently, to the wonderful grace teaching of the Inherit the kingdom of God. (Going for the Gold - Joe L Wall) POSITIONAL SANCTIFICATION = PAST TENSE SALVATION = JUSTIFICATION Sanctified (37)(hagiazo from hagios = holy, set apart) means to set apart for God, to sanctify, to make a person or thing (in the OT altars, days, priests, etc were set apart) the opposite of koinos, which means profane or common. The primary meaning of sanctify is "to set apart, to consecrate," but it also carries the thought of the resultant holiness of character in the consecrated. For clarification, keep in mind that in the NT hagiazo has 3 distinct shades of meaning: (1) Describing the action of dedicating or consecrating something or someone to the service of God (Mt 23:19, 1Ti 4:5, Acts 26:18, 1Co 7:14, Heb 9:13), (2) to treat as holy , as is commanded regarding our Father's Name ("Hallowed" = hagiazo - Mt 6:9-note) and His Son's Lordship (1Pe 3:15-note), and (3) to cause someone to have the quality of holiness, as Paul prays for the saints at Thessalonica (1Th 5:23-note) and John's prayer for the holy to still be holy (Rev 22:11-note). Sanctify is in the perfect tense which speaks something occurring in the past but have permanent effects. This tense indicates not only that sanctification is a state of being that is a result of salvation, but in the passive voice signifies that it is something that God does for the believer at the time of conversion. In other words God sets the believer apart from darkness to light, from the kingdom of the devil to the kingdom of God, ultimately setting him or her apart for Himself, to be eternally be His treasured possession! Amazing grace indeed! This is called by some "positional sanctification." This one act of sanctification is made possible through the Cross of Jesus Christ. To put it another way, in Acts 20:32, Paul is describing past tense salvation (justification), at which time the Spirit set the elders apart from the world and unto God. They were "common" or "profane" when they were unregenerate sinners still in Adam. But when the supernatural power of the Gospel brought about their new birth, they were transferred to the kingdom of God's beloved Son (in Christ), and what had been profane or common, was miraculously made "holy." God took sinners and made them into saints. Yes, saved sinners still can sin but that is not the general direction of their life. Once justified (a once for all time transaction), saints begin the life long journey of progressive sanctification (present tense salvation) by the same Spirit that set them apart at the time of justification (1Pe 1:2-note, 2Th 2:13, Acts 26:18 = "have been sanctified by faith in Me [Jesus]" = justification by grace through faith, which is also described in Heb 10:10-note = Have been sanctified"). See similar uses of hagiazo (and related word - hagiasmos) referring to past tense salvation (justification = "positional sanctification") - Ro 15:16-note; 1Cor 1:2; 1:30 [hagiasmos]; 1Cor 6:11; 7:14; Eph. 5:26-note; 1Th 5:23-note; 2Th. 2:13 [hagiasmos]; 1Ti 4:5; 2Ti 2:21-note) As Lewis S. Chafer says... Positional sanctification is as perfect as He is perfect. It is as complete for the weakest saint as it is for the strongest. It depends only on one's union with and position in Christ. All believers, not only some, are classified as 'the saints. Related Resource: Three Tenses of Salvation